World magazine’s Warren Smith has an article out today which provides some additional information regarding the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability’s termination of Gospel for Asia’s ECFA membership.
According to Smith’s reporting, the lack of disclosure surrounding the $40+ million headquarters was key. As I first reported here, GFA failed to disclose the $19.8 million transfer of cash from Believers’ Church to help complete GFA’s new Wills Point, TX headquarters. This cash was not reported as a related party transaction but as an anonymous donation. GFA’s leaders told staff that the organization would not borrow money for the construction but in fact did borrow money from a U.S. bank in 2014 and then took money which Believers’ Church borrowed from an undisclosed source in India.
GFA’s CFO David Carroll said ECFA changes had been made and hopes to regain membership. I will have more to say about this in coming posts.
According to World, Ministry Watch’s Rusty Leonard has advised donors to halt all donations to GFA due to the extent of the problems.
Look for another article on this news from Christianity Today. Spokespeople for the magazine disclosed via multiple channels that an article is coming.
Tag: K.P. Yohannan
What Termination from ECFA Means for Gospel for Asia
Word out of Wills Point, TX (GFA’s HQ) is that GFA’s leadership is hoping to find a friendly reporter to bring forth a puff piece which will minimize the importance of losing membership in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.
That may be a hard sell.
In the past, GFA has relied on ECFA membership as a means of proving their financial integrity. To illustrate, consider these prior statements:
As members of the @ecfa you can trust us when we say 100% of what you give goes to the field! http://t.co/M0OlOzrFna
— Gospel for Asia (@GospelforAsia) June 7, 2014
When GFA’s CFO David Carroll last wrote to me on May 7, 2015, he defended GFA by claiming that GFA adhered to ECFA’s guidelines:
Warren,
No, Gospel for Asia has not violated the law.
When you first contacted us, I mentioned that we would not be able to respond to every question you put before us. Now, with the increased volume and frequency of your questions, it has become clear that this back and forth has become a distraction from our mission work. For this reason, this will be my final response. We understand that you will continue to explore issues around Gospel for Asia and continue to be fed accusations from former employees, and we accept that.
We continue to remain accountable to all applicable laws and regulations, to the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability and to independent auditors.
Sincerely,
David
Apparently, ECFA now disagrees that GFA was accountable.
Prior to Friday, the GFA website proclaimed:
What does it say about GFA that the seal may no longer be displayed?
By the way, I don’t look for the other seal to be there much longer.
For all articles on Gospel for Asia, click here.
Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability Terminates Gospel for Asia's Membership
Just today the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability posted notice that they have terminated Gospel for Asia from ECFA membership due to failure to comply with multiple ECFA standards. GFA was a charter member of the ECFA, having joined in 1982.
The reasons for termination are listed on the ECFA former member page:
This is a major development in this story and represents enforcement action one rarely sees from the ECFA.
GFA told Mark Woods at Christian Today that the ECFA review of GFA would be done sometime in October and that GFA would then answer all outstanding questions.
The lack of compliance involves the following ECFA standards:
Standard 2 – Governance
Every organization shall be governed by a responsible board of not less than five individuals, a majority of whom shall be independent, who shall meet at least semiannually to establish policy and review its accomplishments.
Standard 3 – Financial Oversight
Every organization shall prepare complete and accurate financial statements. The board or a committee consisting of a majority of independent members shall approve the engagement of an independent certified public accountant, review the annual financial statements, and maintain appropriate communication with the independent certified public accountant. The board shall be apprised of any material weaknesses in internal control or other significant risks.
Standard 4 – Use of Resources and Compliance with Laws
Every organization shall exercise the appropriate management and controls necessary to provide reasonable assurance that all of the organization’s operations are carried out and resources are used in a responsible manner and in conformity with applicable laws and regulations, such conformity taking into account biblical mandates.
Standard 7 – Stewardship of Charitable Gifts
7.1 Truthfulness in Communications
In securing charitable gifts, all representations of fact, descriptions of the financial condition of the organization, or narratives about events must be current, complete, and accurate. References to past activities or events must be appropriately dated. There must be no material omissions or exaggerations of fact, use of misleading photographs, or any other communication which would tend to create a false impression or misunderstanding.
VIEW COMMENTARY
7.2 Giver Expectations and Intent
Statements made about the use of gifts by an organization in its charitable gift appeals must be honored. A giver’s intent relates both to what was communicated in the appeal and to any instructions accompanying the gift, if accepted by the organization. Appeals for charitable gifts must not create unrealistic expectations of what a gift will actually accomplish.
VIEW COMMENTARY
I am surprised that Standard 5 was not also mentioned since GFA has not produced an audited financial statement for 2014.
Additional Information:
GFA’s charter member profile on ECFA’s website (Google cache)
GFA’s characterization of the meaning of ECFA membership (Google cache):
The ECFA seal is tangible evidence to donors that a ministry is complying with the highest standards of Christian ethics in its governance, fundraising and financial accounting and reporting.
Gospel for Asia to Calvary Chapels in 2014: We Are Just Like You
As facts have emerged in the United States about Believers’ Church in India, Gospel for Asia leaders have scrambled to respond to worries that Believers’ Church is not evangelical. In 2014, Believers’ Church worked on a response to questions coming from within Calvary Chapels. Historically, this movement has been supportive of GFA financially and otherwise.
Thus, in the summer of 2014, an assistant to K.P. Yohannan drafted a letter under his name and reviewed by top management to address rumors about the governance and practices of Believers’ Church. I have obtained a copy of that letter. My source for the letter does know for certain that it was sent and so I am calling on Calvary Chapel pastors to read this and let me know if such a letter was ever received (remember GFA won’t respond to my questions and haven’t since May).
Even if the letter wasn’t mailed, it contains talking points geared to Calvary Chapel stakeholders being used in the present and provides an insight into GFA’s stance regarding Believers’ Church. Yohannan makes the surprising claim that Believers’ Church practices are similar to Calvary Chapel polity. Recently disclosures regarding ordination rituals (ring/hand kissing), liturgy, and Communion practices cast doubt on the claims that Believers’ Church is thoroughly evangelical.
The letter in a draft form:
Dear ___________,
Greetings to you in the name of our Lord.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. In the recent weeks, a few of our Calvary Chapel pastors and friends told us of some misinformation someone was spreading around, saying K.P. Yohannan and his ministry had become Catholic, etc.
This letter is to say we are not Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, or any such denomination in faith or mission. This rumor was originally started by a few Pentecostal brothers who wanted to discredit us for their own gain.
For the sake of the work of the Lord, and to continue the outreach to the most unreached, we had to choose a form of governance that is accepted by the governments in the Asian countries where we work known as “constitutional episcopacy” (this is not the same as an Episcopal church with their , but rather it is the governance of the church). This is exactly what is described in the Calvary Chapel Distinctives book by Pastor Chuck Smith. The church is ruled by episkopos (bishops) and presbyteros (elders).
In order for our pastors to conduct weddings and other legal matters for the church, each one must be licensed by the Magistrate from the judicial system, or be ordained by a bishop of a church within the constitutional episcopacy.
Thus, when we ordain our pastors, sometimes 100 or 200 at a time, the bishop that does the ordination is required to wear a certain attire/uniform and head gear that makes the ceremony authentic, much like is done during a college graduation ceremony here in the west. The wearing of the head gear is only done when he pronounces the statement, “By the authority vested in me, I decree you are now an ordained minister in the church of our Lord.” The wearing of the cap is only for a few minutes during the entire two hour ordination service.
Someone has taken one of these pictures of me in my formal dress as the senior bishop of the church, performing the ordination service. That person is using the picture to try and mislead others by accusing me as Catholic or Orthodox, etc.
We are NOT Catholic, nor are we Episcopalians, nor Anglicans, etc., etc. Rather, we are a Spirit-filled, evangelical church, born out of obedience to Christ’s Great Commission commanded to make disciples in all the world. We are radically evangelical both in our doctrines as well as in our spiritual lives. Please read more information about Believers Church on the page we have on our website.
If you have any further questions, please call me, or you can ask Pastor Skip Heitzig or a host of other Calvary Chapel Pastors that have gone to the mission field with us to teach God’s Word..
Thank you again for taking time to read through this letter. It won’t be long before we stand before Him. Like you, I am longing for that day, for the sake of two billion that wait to hear our Lord’s Name.
For the unreached,
K.P. Yohannan
KPY/sck
Note the appeal to board member Skip Heitzig as a way of addressing concerns with this group. More recently, CC pastor Damian Kyle has been added to the board, probably for similar reasons. Some in the CC world are questioning the practices of Believers’ Church.
The BC liturgy, particularly regarding Communion appears to be dissimilar to what I know of Calvary Chapel. Certainly the ordination service seems more high church than CC. Yohannan has denied he allowed people to kiss his ring. This video seems to contradict that claim. Watch:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfHoh6xMEkM[/youtube]
If you are a CC pastor and you received this letter, please let me know either in the comments section or via email.
Calvary Chapel Pioneer Rebukes K.P. Yohannan's Church Rituals
Last night, Phoenix Preacher posted audio of Bill Gallatin, a pioneer in Calvary Chapel circles, rebuking the hand kissing rituals of Believers’ Church recently brought to light here and by former staff of Gospel for Asia. At the Northeast Senior Pastors Conference going on now in upstate New York, Gallatin said during a speech:
and you got a man in India who says he’s a Calvary Chapel and he’s wearing robes like the pope and he’s even having his own people come up and kiss his hand…and no ones even blinking.
You can hear the full audio at this link (at about 30 minutes in).
Those familiar with Calvary Chapel are telling me that Rev. Gallatin’s statement, while brief, is significant. As this kind of sentiment bubbles to the surface, it makes me wonder how long GFA will remain silent, even in response to donors and supporting churches.